


Dancing Through Life

by mementomoe



Category: Namesake (Webcomic)
Genre: Adjusting to Earth, Dancing, F/F, Flirting, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Yultide, Yultide 2017
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-24
Updated: 2017-12-24
Packaged: 2019-02-09 21:38:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12897369
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mementomoe/pseuds/mementomoe
Summary: Selva may have had a nice instructor with two other students, but she still had to go adjust to earth.She wished she could speak more with that woman she tried to fight in Oz, though. She was beautiful.





	Dancing Through Life

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Moontyger](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moontyger/gifts).



> I was browsing the requests and I had to write for you. Plumcat is one of my favorite pairings ever. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> Namesake is written and drawn by Isabelle Melançon and Megan Lavey-Heaton. I am neither of these women, though they are both very sweet.

The first time Selva saw Alice, she didn’t know what to think. 

Jinjur had spread the news that the not-Dorothy, Emma, had returned with others. Selva wanted to see these others for herself. There weren’t many visitors other than the Dorothies.

After listening to a story she knew and a story she didn’t from Emma and her sister, Selva thought Alice would hurt Emma. The blonde woman seemed like she would make a nice sweater. Something fluffy that smelled of small animals.

At least the hand offered afterwards was friendship, not destruction.

A very beautiful hand. She wanted to learn more about these people. About Alice.

She may have claimed that her brother’s condition weakening with Emma for the reason she volunteered them to go to Earth, but in honesty, she wanted to see more of this world that her brother had red furiously of in books.

The first days Selva had on Earth were strict. She was brought to specific places and told what to do. Other than the ride to Calliope, she didn’t see the sky much. Mags and her apprentices were fun to speak with. She had several questions about their clothes. They were nothing like what she saw on any of the murals back in Oz of the Dorothies.

Pawnee taught her about this music called rock as they worked on projects. About the styles of clothes that some called alternative. Selva wasn’t quite as fond of the music as Pawnee, but it was always nice to learn more about Earth. Pawnee gave her a small personal music player and some discs to put inside it. The music was mostly her favorites. Selva tried to keep an open mind and played all the discs repeatedly, but it was odd

After the first week, she learned that they were studying her to some extent. Unfortunately, none of them knew just how she could ignore mass laws, but Selva guessed it might have had to do with not being from earth.

As time went on, she had more time free. She wasn’t supposed to leave Alexandria, but she didn’t need to. She visited her friends, went to the stores to learn about clothing and fabrics. There were some she never heard of before, and some were made specifically for magic reactivity. Others stretched wide without holes appearing. There were so many colors that she never thought could be in clothes. Some were so bright, they almost glowed.

She sometimes thought about those she met before. She wanted to find Alice again. That first day on earth had done nothing to quell her lilac blushes when she thought of the woman. Pawnee and the others were nice to talk to, but of all the impulsive reasons to come to Earth, Alice was high on the list. She never had the chance to apologize for that first impression.

There were times their paths crossed for work, but she hadn’t had that conversation she wanted.

It was during a free afternoon a few weeks in that she didn’t head to Alexandria. It was a nice town, but for the moment, she just wanted quiet, and not busy exploring, especially of the clothes store there. Selva also had places in Calliope she wanted to spend time. Her brother probably spent most of his free time in the library. He seemed to adjust better to earth than he expected, but there was always something he kept secret.

She preferred the garden, anyway. It was beautiful, walls of Calliope guarding it on every side. It was well-manicured, with white stone pathways and evergreens and shrubs behind ankle-high walls. In the middle was a fountain, sculpted carefully enough that people could sit on the edge of it, but without a guard rail. Once she had seen someone fall in when they pushed back just too far. The water itself was shallower than the height from the outside made it seem.

Back home, it was winter when they left. Here, it was still autumn. She could feel brisk winds at times, but it wasn’t as cold or as dark as Oz. Perhaps she could make a coat out of something nearby.

She sat down to enjoy herself. If she couldn’t find one of those who brought her here, then solitude was just as nice. She wondered if there were any flowers that would bloom there in spring.

“You have a day off as well?” She heard Alice ask her. She looked up, and the blonde was there. She had her usual boots, and that small look on her face. She didn’t smile often, but there were stories.

“Mags doesn’t need me this afternoon,” she said. Her hand went to her hair. She wondered if she looked fine. She could feel her cheeks warm up. Of all the people she had met, Alice was the most beautiful. “I never said sorry. For trying to fight you.”

Alice sat down beside her. “In all honesty, I would have done the same if a friend was like Emma. I’m just glad both you and your brother came. I’ve heard that Oz had friction with Calliope in the past.”

Selva hadn’t thought about that. Maybe her brother read something about it. “I didn’t know. It must be far in the past.”

Alice gave a small smile. There wasn’t much, but something about it endeared Selva more. “I was looking for you both. They wanted to know how everyone is adjusting. It’s been a couple weeks, after all. I asked to help.”

How she was adjusting. It was well enough. Her job was fun, Alexandria was a nice town. She wanted to try more music that wasn’t rock, and more clothes. Also, there were all the foods out there. She wanted to enjoy them all until her brother got his heart back.

“Pawnee’s nice,” she said. “And Mags is a good instructor, though sometimes I miss the one I had back home.”

Only sometimes. Her mother had been gone for years. She respected the woman, though Selva couldn’t say she had the Mother-daughter relationship that was ideal. She learned quite a bit about her powers after Adora passed on.

It was nice that she had an instructor again. Experimenting was fun, but something about the structure seemed to make her feel more in-touch with her magic.

Alice was quiet, as if that wasn’t everything she wanted to hear. Selva wanted to talk about so much. About how amazing everyone was. How beautiful she thought many people were, especially Alice.

“I didn’t know what to expect from earth. I was scared towns would be bigger than Alexandria.”

“Some are,” Alice said. “We’re a bit outside Liverpool, and even that city is small compared to London.”

“How far away is London?” Selva asked. She didn’t want to focus on her life. It was going well enough, but she wanted to learn more about earth. About Alice. Pawnee only gave so much information.

“I’m sure you were told, but I guess it depends. It’s about four or five hours usually. Three by train.”

Trains. She knew a bit about trains. “It must be a noisy three hours,” she said. “I mean, all that coal burning, and the clacking of the wheels and such.”

She made Alice laugh. “Trains are quieter these days.”

“One day,” Selva said. “Maybe I could go on a train. I can wear a disguise or glamour charm. I'd probably need someone to help, though,” The idea of going somewhere with Alice pleased her. She knew her skin wasn't normal. It wasn't back in Oz, and definitely wasn't on earth either, so some kind of spell might be able to hide that.

“You seem to be adapting just fine. I’ll be sure to tell those in charge of your brother's and your transitions how well. That said, if everything goes well, a trip to London might be fun. The Crewes and Mr. Kench seem like they're doing well.”

But after that, she had so much more to say. “Wait, is there some music other than rock music that's popular? Pawnee gave me a small item that plays music, but all I have are her favorites. It's not exactly bad, but it's different than what I know, and I don't think it's what I'd like.” Perhaps that was a bit too obvious of a request for more music?

“I’ll see, Selva,” Alice said. “Do you have a CD player, which you put something in it, or did she give you an MP3 player?”

Selva furrowed her brow as she focused on it. “There were a lot of buttons on it, and it had something that looked like a record in it.”

“CD player it is, then. I’ll get my own favorites sent to you this evening.”

Selva smiled. Things would be good, then.

Alice looked at her. She seemed very much like that cat that spent time in her bedroom. Elaine said Alice had something happen during her trip, so the similarities were intentional. What seemed smug and annoying on a pampered pet like Whisper was endearing on a human face.

"Just what was music like on Oz? I want to get you my favorites, but if you could tell me about what you knew, I can find something similar."

Selva "The disc in my player is a small version of one thing the Wizard brought, I'm told." She looked at her hands. "But some magicians figured it out, and we played the music. Also, some Dorothies taught us about their music. It's probably some kind of music you're familiar with, just older."

Selva stood up. "It's quick, usually, with a lot of different kinds of horns. And one of those big violins. There was this one song I remember." She hummed it and danced. She felt herself blush, but she always loved hearing this one song and just her own version of it encouraged her to dance. She didn't know if she got it right.

Alice stood up and held out her hand. "Shall we, Selva?"

She stopped at that moment. Dancing with her, well, she had thought about that, but did she know what it was?

Alice started humming something similar to the song she knew, making her own version of the movements, that hand still offered.

Selva took the hand and started singing along with her.

They danced for a few minutes. Selva didn't close the distance too much. It seemed a bit odd to do. Was it forward. But she could still follow Alice's steps easily.

"I know just what kind of music you're talking about," Alice said. "I can find some of that as well as my favorites."

Selva smiled. "Thank you, Alice. it was nice." She couldn't bring herself to ask Alice to dance again. She always seemed a bit private. Kind, but something like this was just meant for her.

That evening, when she went back to her room, she saw a pile of small cases. It had to have been Alice who sent them.

She put them in her player and listened. It wasn't the same as music in Oz, but there was something about it that made her smile. What were the different instruments? How did the disc hold music?

She fell asleep and dreamed of kissing Alice while dancing again.


End file.
